


Within These Old Halls

by Cyberskeletor



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics), batfam - Fandom
Genre: Found Family, post death, reactions to coming back to life, uhhhhh idk man I just couldnt sleep last night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 10:34:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20852018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyberskeletor/pseuds/Cyberskeletor
Summary: Basically just each of the boys coming home and various thoughts.





	Within These Old Halls

When Jason finally comes home he finds that his old room is quiet and clean. It’s still just as neat as when he had left it, but surprisingly someone had been careful to keep it dusted.  
He notices that the sheets on his bed are fresh and wonders softly to himself how many times they had been changed, anticipating his eventual return. There weren’t many personal items around the room except for the standard clothes, coats, an old book bag, and some polaroids strewn out over the dresser. On his nightstand was a pile of books Alfred had lent him. Jason had loved to read and Alfred was always pleased to suggest classics collected on old Wayne shelves.  
Despite the years that had passed Alfred, who had always been particular about book care, hadn’t reshelved the borrowed books. In fact, Jason found that one still had a page marked where he had last left it.  
When Jason finally comes home he finds that he hadn’t been forgotten after all.

When Damian is brought back home he’s not sure what to expect. Death is a constant for people like them and the door is ever revolving, surely everyone would have moved on.  
Upon investigating his room he finds many of his possessions missing. A lot of sketch work and pieces of art. It’s alright, the child tells himself, it was to be expected. The animals of the house are beyond pleased to see him and of course Damian spoils them with treats and spends a lot of time giving them all care and pettings.  
Damian does some digging to learn what all he had missed and finds the things his father had done in grief, and hears how hard Pennyworth has taken the loss. It makes sense, his father had never handled death well, and Pennyworth could quietly carry anything…to a certain point. It certainly helps him understand the missing things from his room. It must have eased the memories, he supposes.  
Within the manor Martha Wayne’s old paintings are carefully hung, and carefully cared for; every so often his father would wander a hall to see some of them. It isn’t until Damian decides to wander and see them himself does he truly understand. His grandmother’s paintings have been moved and rearranged to fit in new pieces. Damian views his missing artwork hanging along side his grandmother’s and it just clicks.  
When Damian is brought home he sees that he was loved.

When Dick finally makes it home after months of playing spy and pretending to be dead he’s grateful to see how the house had continued to move on. The Wayne manor had a history of tragedy and was almost like a museum of grief, but he doesn’t find that this time.  
He had moved out quite some time ago to work in Bludhaven so his room had been mostly emptied of his belongings except for some spare street clothes and a few old knick-knacks from school. His bedroom window still slides open and closed as silently as it had when he was a teenager coming and going without Bruce knowing.  
Well, Bruce probably did know, but at the time sneaking past The Batman had been a pride and joy. Dick could laugh at himself now that so many of their arguments had passed over time. Bruce was an infuriating person to understand but someone had to do it.  
Dick is still very busy running around as Nightwing, taking back his name “Dick Grayson”, and various other responsibilities but he purposely forces time into his schedule to stop in and visit Alfred. There are nights where Gotham is a bit quieter, nights where Batman might have a midnight rendezvous with a certain Selina Kyle, and on those nights no one is needed on Comms. It’s those nights that he sits with Alfred in the kitchen and carefully makes the old Butler a cup of hot tea despite Alfred’s protest. Dick reasons that they’re family and really a cup of tea isn’t a big deal. Alfred sips his tea and Dick munches on animal crackers. He’d never asked for them but ever since he was small that manor just always had them stocked. As silly as it was, it was comforting seeing the circus decorated box. Despite having been gone for so long the box in the manor’s pantry wasn’t stale at all but was rather new.  
On the kitchen’s doorframe are little notches carved and notated with pen. One tracks Bruce’s height but stops sometime around the age of 9. the other tracks Dick’s height, starting around the age of 9 and stops sometime during his teens. Alfred says nothing when Dick leaves the table and updates his height chart with a new notch.  
When Dick finally makes it home he finds that life goes on.

When Tim climbs the steps from the batcave and into the manor for the first time in so long, he feels unsure of himself. Events in his life- and death- had tossed him around and he had felt very lost. He still did, if he were being truthful.  
He had heard how Bruce had reacted by being overly cautious with the other boys after Tim’s death. His promise that Tim would be the last one lost in the line of duty. Of course, Bruce had said the same thing after Jason…  
But the truth was, Batman couldn’t work alone. He would always need a Robin and friends to help him through the night. So of course, that chances that Tim would be the last to fall was slim to none. Tim would never voice these thoughts though.  
When Tim had first started to crack who Batman and Nightwing really were, Jason had died and Batman was lashing out violently against criminals in the streets. Tim tracked him down and pressed that he needed another Robin. It took alot of work but slowly and surely Bruce’s grief grew to be manageable.  
When Damian died Tim had tried to be there for Bruce, they all had, but was instead screamed at and scolded. Alot of hurt and regret followed him but Tim knew that it would subside with time.  
Having been Robin and worked with Batman it could feel like he was invincible. He’d worked with the Justice League, Titans, and countless super humans. He’d been to space, other worlds, the future, and had buried many friends. So when it was Tim’s time to go he went out as heroically as he could. After all, he had big shoes to fill and one life would always be worth it.  
But now he was back, as though it hadn’t happened. He was laughing with friends, blaring The Clash from his bedroom, and joking with Alfred and Dick on coffee fueled nights. Jason and Damian didn’t even give him as much shit as they used too which was definitely a relief.  
What’s really surprising though is that Bruce hadn’t removed any of his batcomputer security clearances. It was a risk for Bruce to have left an inactive user attached to so many sensitive documents, files, and servers, but yet he hadn’t deleted Tim’s access codes.  
Tim finds a private log that Bruce had kept detailing all the things Tim would have missed as though Bruce had been sure that one day…. One day he’d be back.  
When Tim finally makes it home he finds that he had never simply just been a “replacement” and is relieved.

The Wayne Manor is host to many ghosts, lost loves, and heartbreaks. But within it’s walls is always a place to come back to. It’s a place for a found family to kick off their boots and eat a warm meal before going back out into the cold night, and it will always be there when it’s time to come home.

**Author's Note:**

> Comics are a mess IDK. anyways.


End file.
